Reversible T-Shirt Purse

Materials Needed:
• T-shirts (I used 9 but I think you could do this with 2 or 3)
• Sewing machine & thread
• 2 buttons (optional)
• needle and thread (optional)


*one side front & back


*the other side front & back


*strap detail

Recently my little sis cleaned out her closet and I snatched all of her awesome t-shirts (I just imagined all the fun things I could make). This t-shirt purse is my first project using those old t's. I didn't use a pattern and it is pretty thrown together but I would rate this project intermediate.

To start I grabbed the 3 different shirts that I wanted to be the one side and I grabbed my scissors and cut out how big I wanted my bag to be out of the green and brown t-shirt then I took the blue shirt and cut it out the same width and then cut out the height I wanted it to be (which ended up being a little less than half the height). This will also be my "template" for the patched side.

Next I took about 6 other t-shirts and cut out strips of their decorated sides and sewed them together side by side until I had enough to make the front and back of the purse. Then I took some scraps and cut out a couple of strips for the flap of the purse and sewed them together. Then I placed my original shirts on top of my stitched up ones and cut it down to size (great measuring I know). Once this was done I sewed up the sides and bottoms of my 2 purses and then I grabbed a small thin scrap (to be the button hole) and pinned it to the flaps (facing in- so when I flipped it inside out it would be showing on the right side; my flaps are right sides together) then I sewed the 2 flaps together (I would say if I did this again I would have sewn the tops onto the flaps first but I sewed them on later). Then I folded the top of the bag down about 1/4 in. and ironed it (I did this to both bag (not flap) pieces).

Next I made the strap. I used the extra pieces I had from cutting off the excess from the patched side and just sewed them together with a bunch of curvy and straight lines. To get the different colors I made my bobbin thread blue and my top thread yellow and flipped it over to get both the stitch colors on each side.

Then I took placed the patched purse inside of the solid purse wrong sides together and pinned it. Then I placed my straps inside the 2 pieces (the patched and the solid purses) and also put the flap inside the 2 pieces (again if I were re-doing this I would have those sewn on already). Then I stitched it all together (stitches showing) and then flipped it over and stitched another line as well (just for good measure and to make both the yellow and blue thread show).

Finally I placed a button where it should lay according to my button hole sewn onto the flap, and I put the needle through. Once it was on the other side I grabbed another button (it's reversible so we have to have one on the other side) and placed the needle through one of the holes and then I continued to stitch both buttons on. Now I can turn it either way and I have a fun new bag!

Embellished Tank

Materials Needed:
• tank top (or shirt or skirt or pants or anything you want to embellish)
• silk flowers
• small beads
• needle & thread




*detail

During summer in the South, tank tops are essential and I own a ton of tank tops in a variety of colors but all of them are plain, which is fine for relaxing at home but sometimes I want to go out somewhere nicer but still want to wear one of my comfy tanks. This is why I decided to sew on some flowers to one of my many grey tank tops.

To start this project, I grabbed a handful of silk flowers (left over from a friends wedding) and took off the stems and the center pieces and was left with just the flower and no plastic parts. Then I matched up a few flowers together and positioned them in many places on the tank finding what I liked most and then marked it. Next I took my needle and thread and went up from the back of the fabric to the top, placed the flower petals on for the first flower and added a small bead then took my needle and thread back down and repeated that for 3 beads. Then I did that to both of the other flowers. Now I have a new top. Super simple and now I have a dresser but still comfy tank.

Hand Monstar Puppet

Materials Needed:
• fleece (3 different colors)
• yarn
• googly snap on eyes
• fiber fill
• sewing machine & thread
• sewing needle & thread


* front


* back


* action shots

My brother's birthday is coming up and he wrote me asking if I would make him a puppet for his birthday. He asked for a moving mouth (most important he said), arms and something about wires (I didn't add wires-hope it works out ok for him). Having never made a puppet before (minus maybe a brown lunch bag puppet when I was a child) I really had no idea where to start. So I went searching on line and ended up finding a cool make your own monster puppet which looked really awesome so I ordered one for him and thought it would be a fun thing for him and his daughter to do together. Finished...or so I thought. But the idea kept spinning in my head how would I make a puppet; where would I start. So after many days of thinking it this is what I came up with.

First, I took the blue fleece and doubled it onto itself and drew the basic shape of my hand with my thumb tucked in, then I cut it out about a 1/2 in. on all sides (for sewing and for extra fabric inside).Now I had 2 pieces of the same shape. Then I took one of those pieces and figured out where the top of my thumb would hit and I marked it and then giving about 1/2 in. extra I cut it out following the same curve I had before. Then I took my two blue pieces and lined them up on top of each other and figured out where it would open for his mouth. Next I got my red fleece and cut out the mouth using the blue pieces open as a template (I am one of those "eye ball it" type crafters- no exact measurements here).

Once that was all cut, I went back to my blue fleece (doubled up again) and cut 2 crude arms with "hands" (just the area where his hands are gets bigger). Now I had 4 arms (2 fronts and back) and then I took it all to my sewing machine.

First, I took the arms and pinned them front to back and sewed them on the sides and hand area leaving the bottom un-sewn so I could stuff it. After both were sewn I then stuffed them with the fiber fill. Next, I pinned the 2 blue pieces together and then I pinned the arm in (I started with just one side than I did the other). With the arm I had to make sure it was tucked into the middle of the blue fleece so that when it was done being sewn and turned inside out his hands would be showing,(if I had them facing out then when I turned it inside out it would be on the inside). Then I stopped pinning where the mouth would start (telling me to stop sewing). I sewed one side then the other (pinning the next arm once I had finished the first side). Now I was left with the mouth I pinned it on and sewed it up.

Next, I flipped him inside out and got my goggly snap on eyes and placed them where I thought looked right, once I found that place I marked it and then cut a tiny slit into it, slid my eye in and snaped on the back part. Next I got some scrap yarn and took it and wrapped it around my hand several times. Once I got enough "hair" I took it off my hand and cut it in half then I took my needle and thread and hand stitched it onto his head when he had his hair finished I gave him a hair cut, mainly cutting any that were a lot longer than the rest. Lastly, I cut out an orange tounge and hand sewed it into the mouth using a slip stitch.

Once it was finished I had to of course play with it to test it out. It isn't the best puppet in the world but it was simple to make and lots of fun to play with. Reminds me a lot of The Muppets or Fraggle Rock.

Embellished Work Apron

Materials Needed:
• apron
• computer
• Dark t-shirt transfers (I use Avery Ink Jet Dark T-shirt Transfer paper- I like theirs the best- plus I have an ink jet)
• printer
• silk flowers
• thread & needle
• beads




*detail

This project came along because I really needed an apron. I am always doing messy crafts and never fail to get it all over my clothes, so instead of having to change clothes I decided an apron was the way to go. So I bought a cheap all black apron and decided to embellish it with a few touches.

First I found some silk flowers that I had from a table decoration that was at my friends wedding and I thought I would like to sew them onto the sides of the pockets (it felt more magical that way). So I took the flowers apart. Taking the stems off and then popping apart the middle part of the flower and was left with petals with a hole in the center. To attach these I got some thread and knotted it then started from inside the pocket and brought my needle up then I placed 2 set of petals through the needle and then a small bead then brought my needle back through the other side then went back up and placed another bead and did that until I had 3 or more beads for the center of the flower.

Next I went to my computer and drew up a monstar for the pocket (he is supposed to be a helper monstar handing me glue, pencil, scissors, paint brush- you know whatever I need :) Then I also made some text that spelled out Monstar Maker and then once that was all designed I printed it out on a quality print setting.

Once it was printed I cut out my designs leaving a white boarder around my little monstar helper. The text already had a white box around it so I just cut out the box. Then I took my monstar and placed him where I wanted him and ironed him on according to the directions from the transfer paper and then did the same for the letters. Now this didn't come out perfect but I still wanted to post it. I think either the iron was set too high or the fabric dye maybe came through the iron on so it has a sort of dirty look to it but I figure it is just gonna get dirty anyway but it was a fun and simple project and now I have a handy dandy work apron!

Recycled T-Shirt Baby Quilt

Materials needed:
• 6-12 old t-shirts (or scrap material)
• sewing machine & thread
• embroidery thread
• batting (or old sheet or fabric)
• scrap fabric for borders
• yard or so of fabric for back
• patches (optional)
• felt (optional)
• yarn (optional)




close up view

I am one of those people who feels emotionally attached to my clothing, so I always had a hard time cleaning out my closet when the time came. Even though things wouldn't fit I just couldn't help but wanting to keep them because inevitably they reminded me of some time in my life. So instead of letting them just sit in my closet and never see the light of day I decided to make my husband and I a quilt out of them. The original one is a huge and it took me 2 years to finish (note: I worked on it on and off for the 2 years mainly waiting to collect enough old clothes in the process but I think if I was diligent on it and had all the scraps I needed it would have taken me about 4 months).

This one above took me about 3 days. It is a small version that I made for my little Zoe, while I was pregnant. I really loved the idea that she would sleep with our shirts and smell and be "protected" by us. I have made this baby blanket sized quilt a few other times and don't find it to be too hard to do with a little time and patience.

To start I gathered scraps of t-shirts from our other quilt but chances are you don't have that so you can either use scrap material you have or just gather 6-12 t-shirts that you no longer wear any more but have some attachment to. Then I got a piece of scrap foam board (anything thing and sturdy will do I used it as my template) I measured out how big I wanted the squares. In this one above there are 2 different sizes a smaller square and a larger one. I made the smaller ones 1/2 the size of the larger one and added a 1/4 in seam allowance (meaning the bigger one was 8.5 in sq and the smaller one then would be 4.25 in sq plus the 1/4 in for the seam allowance giving me 4.5 in sq). . Another great idea I have seen is that you just cut long strips and sew them together which gives it a fun stripy look. You of course can do just about anything you want- shapes, colors, whatever you can think of.

So after making my templates I grabbed my shirts and placed the template right on top and then used my rotary cutter and cut around the template (you can also mark it with sewing pencils or chalk and then cut on your line). Once I had enough to lay it down (the total size of my quilt with out the border was 27.5 in x 36.5) I laid out the pieces the way they looked best to me. I just did a simple pattern here of a big square, 4 small squares, big square, 4 sm. sq. across and then switched it for the next row and made it 4 sm sq, big sq, 4 sm sq, big square and again for the next row I switched it back. Ending with 4 rows across and 4 rows down (and a row I count as the size of my big square).

Once they are in position the way I like them I take one section of the 4 sm sq and sew those together to make a piece that is as big as my bg sq. I do this for all my sm sq until they are all in big pieces. Then I pin my first row together and sew it. Then I take my second row and sew it and then the third row and sew it. Then I pin the first row to the second row and sew and then that piece gets pinned to the 3rd row and I sew it.

Once that whole center piece is done I then find a scrap fabric to make a border on my edges (normally this means it will be a mix of colors but you can of course finish it off with the same color and fabric or whatever is easiest for you). For the border on this one I used 2 inches thick of material and sewed it to my shorter sides all the way up. Then I trimmed off the excess material (I didn't do any measuring lengthwise because when I do I inevitably end up with miss matched pieces in the bad way- this is how I avoid any problems). I did the same to the other short side (I did this so my sides would look the same but you can just work your way around if you want- going from short side to long side to short side to long side or if you know how you can even make diagonal cornors). Once the 2 short sides were done I did the long sides.

When your border is finished I then added a little batting. I used the batting (from the fabric store) I had left over from my other quilt but if you want you can also use old sheets or old curtians- whatever. Then I laid the quilt onto the batting with the quilt facing up. I smoothed it out and pined it using quilt safety pins. The reason I use those is because they don't rust out in time and this project can take a while (like my 2 year quilt). Then I trimmed it down to about the edge of my borders just to make it easier to work with.

Next I got embroidery thread (leaving it as 6 strands but you can make it as thick as you want) and did a simple stitch around where I sewed my t-shirts together, sewing the t-shirts to the batting. I loved doing this chunky hand stitch because it really looks hand done and has a quirkiness about it.

Once I sewed all of my squares to the backing I then trimmed down the batting about 1/2 in from the edge of the border all the way around (I leave it on at first just in case I pull on the batting and end up too short on one side). Then I added my monstar and dragonfly. To do the monstar I just cut the shapes out of felt and fleece remnants I had and then hand stitched it to my quilt before finishing it off I got a little bit of fiber fill and stuffed it making it 3-D but plush still. Then I got some patches (a dragonfly and flower) and hand sewed them on.

When the decorating is done I got a large section of scrap fabric (it measured over the final size of my quilt) from my other quilt or you can buy about a yard of a soft fabric (measure your final piece and make sure to get enough fabric for your piece) or just sew a couple of larger scraps together. Then I pinned it with right sides together and started sewing starting the edges together leaving an opening for me to flip it inside out.

Once sewed I trimmed the corners so they would lie flat and then flipped it inside out. Then I pinned the border down and sewed (stitch showing) around my border close to the t-shirt part. This helps it attach to the back piece of fabric better. Then I hand stitched my opening closed using a simple slip stitch and it was finished. If you are making a larger quilt I recommend getting some scrap yarn and sewing little knots on the corners of your squares to tie them to the fabric below. On the small quilt this doesn't matter as much but the larger the quilt the more stability you need to keep the 2 pieces from sliding around.

Hand Embroidered Card

Materials needed:
• blank cards and envelopes
• needle
• embroidery thread
• awl (optional)
• scrap paper










So this is a project I did a while back but I still really like it. I love to embroider and came up with an idea to embroider a greeting card.

To do this project I got a set of blank cards and envelopes. I then drew out a picture on a piece of scrap paper and used a awl (you can also use any sort of sharp pointed object) to poke holes around my image where I wanted to embroider. Then I got my embroidery thread (color of your choice) cut it fairly long and then pulled out 2 of the threads (they normally come in 6 thread strands). Then I made my knot and started embroidering with a simple back stitch and went around my pattern. Then tied it off with a knot again and trimmed the string. It was pretty simple and the back even looks good since you have holes to follow so it keeps it clean. For a really simple project you can even take it to your sewing machine and just sew fun lines all over with a fun thread and finish it by trimming the thread or even let it fly free.

Monstar Finger Puppets

Materials needed:
• felt
• fabric paint
• sewing machine
• thread

So I was watching Martha on the DIY network and she made these little bug finger puppets and of course I had to make it a monstar!

So what I did was traced my big finger onto felt and then sewed it larger than that (because it loses some space due to extra fabric inside) and then I painted it's face on using fabric paint. One day I will add more to them like arms possibly but I even love the simple ones. Here are the photographs (the photos are blurry, I took it with my phone). It is a really simple project and I feel like anyone can do it!

Monstar Onesies

Materials Needed:
• blank onesie
• embroidery thread (colors of your choice)
• felt (fleece can also be used but felt is better)
• embroidery needle
• embroidery hoop

So I decided to create a blog of the many crafts I find myself getting sucked into. To start I will introduce you to some of my Monstar Onesies. These were started when I was pregnant and decided to make some embroidered onesies for my little Ethan.

To start I bought a 5 pack of onesies from the store and several colors of felt and white embroidery thread. I cut the monstars out and placed them on the shirt until I found something I liked the look of (later on I would sketch out monstars and then create them- though they always look a bit different once they are finished). Then tried to sew as much together as possible before sewing it onto the fabric (to minimize thread knots) and then sewed it on the onesie using an embroidery hoop to keep my fabric taught. Then with some of the details I used embroidery thread and different embroidery stitches to create different looks. Here are a few samples of ones I have made.